A man claimed to be a British doctor on a humanitarian mission to Syria.

Written by Reading Eagle

A man claiming to be a British doctor on a humanitarian mission to Syria defrauded a Lancaster County woman out of $110,400 in a social media scam, state police at Lancaster said Monday.

Over about eight months starting last June, the suspect requested financial help for airfare, legal fees and other costs in posts on the social media platform Google Hangouts.

The victim, who is 53 years old, wired $10,000 to a fake account in Poland. In a separate scheme, she wired more than $99,000 to a purported FBI account in Detroit.

When, as promised, the recipient failed to repay the money after returning to England, the victim contacted state police.

According to troopers:

In addition to his story about being stranded in Syria, the suspect claimed that he had been placed in FBI custody and was being held in a safe house in New York. He told the victim that he had informed the FBI that she was his spouse and was responsible for his fines and fees.

She was to send money to FBI agents in Michigan to cover the expense.

People posing as the agents contacted the victim by telephone and threatened her with arrest if she didn't produce the funds. She wired more than $99,000 to the Detroit account over three months.

The case remains under investigation.

Troopers urge people to be especially cautious when being solicited for money on social media, by telephone, email or any other means. Do not provide anyone with personal information, including Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers or bank accounts, troopers said.